The present invention relates to an improved arthroscopic drill guide. Arthroscopic drill guides known in the art typically have the drawback of requiring a separate probe for each drilling procedure. This occurs since each known probe is not adaptable to the different possible physical arrangements of the holes to be drilled in the respective bones.
Further, prior art drill guides are in many cases cumbersome and complicated to use and do not have a simple means incorporated therewith to adjust the distance between the probe and the drill bit guiding structure itself. In a further aspect, most prior art drill guides have not been designed so as to coaxially align the probe tip with the drill bit guiding structure and because of this, such instruments are difficult to utilize with the required accuracy. In those instruments which do align the probe tip with the drill guiding structure, the drill guide structure is not manufactured to a sufficiently precise tolerance so as to benefit from the advantages which are provided through such alignment.
The following prior art is known to Applicants:
Richards Medical Company has disclosed an arthroscopic ligament drill guide including a hook/probe which is separately engaged to the bone and thereafter connected to an assembled handle/drill guide arm. When so assembled, the drill guide arm is tapped into position on the bone and thereafter a drill is inserted therethrough to perform the drilling operation. The requirements of the installation of the handle and drill guide arm about the probe in situ makes this device extremely cumbersome to use in light of its design. Further, when so assembled, the drill guide is at substantially a right angle to the probe, leading to inherent inaccuracies in the location of the proposed tunnel. Further, the Richards device includes an extremely short clamping region which clamps the drill guide arm to the handle. This arrangement, together with the remoteness of the clamping region from the region of the proposed tunnel, causes magnification of inaccuracies in alignment of the drill guidearm with respect to the probe.
Dyonics, Inc. has disclosed a drill guide with the trademark name "Vector." The "Vector" device includes a probe fixedly mounted on a first arcuate arm which is in turn, pivotably mounted on a second arcuate arm. This second arm carries a drill guide which is slidable and adjustable therealong. The design of the "Vector" guide is such that the probe tip is never axially aligned with the drill guide portion. Furthermore, the pivotal relationship between the frame members which respectively carry the probe and the drill guide gives rise to inherent instabilities during the use of the device. This occurs since there is no way to ensure that the probe tip and drill guide portion lie in a common plane; the co-planar arrangement being one optimum way of ensuring the proper alignment of the instruments for accurate drilling.
Arthrex Arthroscopic Instruments, Inc. has disclosed a drill guide system identified with the trademark "Variable Radius." This device utilizes a structure which is described as having a "bow and arrow" design whereby an arcuate frame has the probe tip adjustably mounted therein in an elongated arcuate slot and the drill guide portion is reciprocable at one end of the arcuate frame. While this structure ensures that the probe tip and the drill guide portion will lie in a common plane, the extent of the arcuate portion of the frame precludes the probe tip and the drill guide portion from ever being coaxial, thereby causing a loss of the inherent accuracy which might otherwise be attainable through the use of the device.
Stryker, Incorporated has disclosed a drill guide system identified by the name "Nisonson" which system includes a curved probe having a probe tip extending in what appears to be axial alignment with a drill guide mounted thereto. The Nisonson system does not include any means to lock the position of the drill guide portion with respect to the probe tip and thus its effectiveness as a surgical tool appears to be limited, at least in this respect.
Acufex Microsurgical, Inc. has disclosed an arthroscopic drill system including a probe tip which curves around to be in axial alignment with a drill guide portion slidably and adjustably mounted with respect to the frame. The frame carries the probe and probe tip. While this structure is at least generally related to the teachings of the present invention, it does not take into account the anatomical considerations necessary to provide an easily adjustable and versatile device which is adaptable to drilling of the tunnels in both the tibia and femur. The Acufex system incorporate a different probe for each of the two tunnels that are drilled. In addition, the probes are far too flexible to maintain proper alignment with the guide portion, thus inherently permitting drilling errors.
The Robert Mathys Company has disclosed a drill guiding system under the trademark name "Synthes" which includes interchangeable probes and probe tips some of which suggest alignment with the drill guide portion and some of which are substantially perpendicular thereto. The necessity for a plurality of interchangeable probes and probe tips renders the Synthes system cumbersome and difficult to manage during the surgical procedure due to the necessity of disassembling and reassembling the instrument for each particular ligament tunnel.